http://WWW.AfricanCrisis.Org/NewsView.asp?Rec=5632&EID=1352
Mugabe sells platinum rights to Chinese [Many African Americans
attacked me over the years for saying the Mugabe was actually armed by the
Communist Chinese in the 1970's. This article below mentions this fact. I
also think this article is optimistic when it says "Mugabe could fall from
power any day". I disagree. I think the Chinese and South Africans have no
intention of letting Mugabe fall from power. I think Implats is actually a
South African mining company with holdings in Zimbabwe. Jan]

ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE has signed a deal with his Chinese
counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing. The details have not been made public but
sources say that China has been given mineral rights to platinum and other
minerals. A land deal for tobacco may also be included. Mugabe requires
Chinese investors to finance ferrochrome production, irrigation projects,
power plants, and transport. The reward is a stake in the nation's platinum
reserves.

The big loser in the deal may well be the largely
privately owned Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats), which controls most of
Zimbabwe's mines. Implats annoyed Mugabe after it put a $750 million
expansion program on hold in February. Implats, the world's second-largest
platinum producer, was worried about government proposals that would force
the company to sell an unspecified stake to black investors and keep foreign
currency earnings in Zimbabwe.

Implats main holdings are in
Zimbabwe (with an estimated 187 million ounces of platinum worth over $40
billion--three times the resources it has in South Africa). Implats holds 84
percent of Zimbabwe's platinum reserves and has remained largely untouched
by Mugabe until now, since the foreign exchange earnings made by the mines
have kept the regime alive by buying much needed fuel and machinery and,
more recently, food.

A month ago, however, the concerns were that
Implats and other companies would be forced to relinquish some of their
assets at unattractive prices to black and Chinese investors. Today the
situation looks far more grave.

CHINA KNOWS that Mugabe could
fall from power any day and cannot assume that mineral rights deals done
today will survive regime change. It's likely that what they have agreed to
is a substantial portion of currently mined platinum, as well as significant
short-run mining rights. The Chinese will also have longer-term rights
included, in case Mugabe survives for another several years, but it's
unlikely they will be relying on such rights to make the deal worthwhile to
them.

What this would mean is that Mugabe plans reneging on current
mining rights agreements. After the destruction of the white-owned farms
there really was only one place Mugabe could extract
revenue--mining.

It is also possible that Mugabe will now no longer
need the loan he originally sought from his old comrade South African
President Thabo Mbeki. For while the Chinese care not a jot for
international conventions and their reputation in the west, and will have no
human rights strings attached to their help, Mbeki does care. He was trying,
albeit unsuccessfully, to get Mugabe to halt the destruction of opposition
area housing and businesses.

This latest deal emphasizes China's
determination to strengthen ties with Mugabe, which date back to the 1970s
war of independence, when Mugabe's fighters were armed by the Chinese.
China's involvement is economically astute, but their willingness to take
over the economic means of production in a pariah state is politically
worrying.

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said on
Sunday that his ruling party would never accommodate the main opposition
Movement for Democratic Change in government and vowed to resist pressure
from Western powers to strike a deal with the party.

Mugabe's
ruling Zanu-PF party won a March 31 parliamentary election amid charges of
fraud by the opposition MDC.

"They have no right to demand that
they be partners with us in government, that they be a member of our
government, that members of the MDC be incorporated into our government,"
said Mugabe in remarks broadcast on state television on his arrival from a
weeklong trip to ally
China.

"We can never do that. We shall never do that. But debate with them in
parliament yes ... no one has the right to want to dictate to us that we
accommodate the MDC," he said.

African leaders have tried
unsuccessfully to foster dialogue between Zimbabwe's two main political
groups in attempts to resolve a political and economic crisis that has left
Zimbabwe struggling with high inflation and unemployment, and shortages of
food, foreign currency and fuel.

The MDC, supported by some Western
nations, has also disputed the victory of Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party in
elections held in 2000 and 2002, alleging rigging and pre-poll violence
against its supporters.

The ruling party denies the charges and
says the opposition party is a puppet of former colonial power Britain.

AS ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe returned to Harare
from China at the weekend almost empty handed, SA's ability to extract
political concessions in return for a loan increased, observers
said.

They said that with Mugabe in desperate need of foreign currency to
pay for energy, fuel, and essential imports, SA could now put the squeeze on
him to deliver his side of the deal, if South African aid is to be
forthcoming.

Some diplomats have said China's refusal to extend
Mugabe's government more than $6m for grain imports, which Zimbabwe's
state-owned Herald said he had been given, may be part of a co-ordinated
play between SA, China and other countries to ensure the beleaguered leader
has to turn to SA for help.

Mugabe received minimal economic help
last week, and China, Russia and Algeria tried unsuccessfully to block
United Nations (UN) special envoy Anna Tibaijuka from addressing the UN
Security Council about her report on Operation Murambatsvina, which says the
urban clean-up campaign made 700000 people homeless.

It is
understood Mugabe wants to visit SA soon to speed-up talks on a bale-out
package for Zimbabwe. A number of his ministers would come to SA next week
for talks, sources said.

The total assistance from China is
well short of the loan SA is considering and makes a very small dent in the
country's foreign exchange shortfall.

Despite Zimbabwe's
desperation for external financing to ease its fuel crisis, SA has given no
signal that this is being considered with the urgency Harare would prefer.
Last week SA helped Zimbabwe gain a reprieve from imminent expulsion from
the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The matter will be put to the
IMF's board on September 9.

Even if Zimbabwe pays its overdue debt to
the fund, it has no prospect of new IMF finance unless it embarks on an
approved programme of reform.

While the South African loan is
earmarked for IMF repayment, the country more urgently needs money for
energy, fuel, and food.

President Thabo Mbeki has said SA would take
"some financial responsibility for Zimbabwe's IMF debt". He did not say what
this would be, but indications from government were that it would be to help
pay Zimbabwe's arrears of close to $300m.

The matter has to
be placed before Parliament in order for any loan to be
approved.

Mugabe took a large delegation of government officials
and business representatives with him to China, which has been the centre of
Mugabe's "look east" policy, launched after European Union and US sanctions
on his government were imposed.

According to the Herald,
agreements were signed during Mugabe's China trip for a $6m grant to import
grain and finance projects. China also agreed to give Zimbabwe 100
computers.

Mugabe met Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing
last week, but a source said China had decided to give him temporary
political protection, but no economic aid of
substance.

"The Chinese have done their assessment and it's
'Mugabe, you are not worth investing in'," the source said.

Even with
the devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar's official exchange rate, the ability
of exporters to retain foreign exchange and the move toward high interest,
the Chinese did not show long-term confidence.

Transfrontier Park
and World Heritage Site under threatSokwanele Report : 1
August 2005

Gonarezhou unfit for incorporation into a Regional Transfrontier
Park

In the south east of Zimbabwe lies the massive Gonarezhou National
Park, a previously unspoiled wilderness. The Park is flanked on its eastern
boundary by the border with Mozambique and just to the south lies the mighty
Kruger National Park. Before the Mugabe regime initiated the chaotic land grab
in Zimbabwe to bolster its rapidly declining popularity, conservationists and
wild life experts had been planning, and the governments concerned had committed
themselves to, a Transfrontier Park which would straddle the borders between
Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

It was to have been an ambitious project which would have created the
largest wildlife sanctuary in the world, and no doubt boosted tourist earnings
and employment prospects dramatically for the three countries concerned. Alas
Zimbabwe has reneged on the deal, allowing the once pristine wildlife area it
was to have contributed to the joint venture to be so ravaged by human invasion
as to be no longer suitable as a national, let alone trans-national game
park.

Our reporter saw this for himself when he recently joined a group of
visitors to Gonarezhou. Their observations are truly shocking.

The first thing they noticed on entering what used to be a strictly
controlled ecozone of outstanding natural beauty, was that all the fences had
been removed. All that remained were the steel poles bedded in the hard earth.
Entering the park they were then struck by the number of indigenous trees that
had been felled - literally thousands - leaving bare, empty plains where mixed
woodlands had once stood. So much for the natural habitat that once supported a
vast range of wild and bird life, but there was worse to come.

The formerly abundant grasslands had been devastated too, grossly
overgrazed by cattle and goats, which now wandered freely through the area. The
cause of this massive degradation of natural resources was of course the
settlers who had moved into the area in search of fresh pastures and
easy-to-harvest game. Indeed our reporter found abundant evidence of the hunting
and slaughter of wildlife with rifles. The game wardens who at one time
jealously guarded the wildlife against poachers are now instructed by their new
political bosses to let things be.

From various vantage points it was clear that the settlers, numbering
many hundreds, had penetrated a distance of between five and 10 kilometres into
Gonarezhou from what used to be the western boundary of the Park. It was in this
vast swathe of land that the greatest destruction of flora and fauna had
occurred. Here the only wildlife seen was a herd of about 30 elephant. In the
vicinity of the renowned Chilojo Cliffs, in an area once teeming with wild life,
the observers spotted only 7 bull elephants and no small game. For the rest they
saw nothing but cattle and goats along the way. The roads were bare of game
spoor.

Further investigation confirmed that some of the settlers had ventured as
far as the Pamadzi River where they had set up makeshift homes. Only as the
visitors thrust farther to the east and away from the area already inhabited by
the new settlers, did they begin to find signs of the once pristine vegetation
that had previously covered the whole of the National Park.

It is clear from the ongoing reports we have received that there is
absolutely no prospect of proceeding with the plans for a Transfrontier Park in
the area until law and order have been restored in Zimbabwe under an altogether
new political dispensation which is serious about tourism, employment and
wildlife conservation. And even then there will be a huge amount of work
involved in making good the depredations of human settlement and exploitation,
for which the Mugabe regime is entirely responsible.

Chirundu Project Threatens World Heritage
Site

During the past five years the regime has destroyed Zimbabwe's once
thriving tourism industry and the highly efficient commercial agricultural
sector which, together with mining, were the country's largest foreign currency
earners.

Sokwanele has been informed of yet another critical threat to
conservation in Zimbabwe: the proposed invasion of a vast tract of pristine
wilderness area, part of which is a World Heritage Site, for an ill-advised 120
000ha agricultural venture.

According to a communiqué released by the Zimbabwe Conservation
Development Foundation (ZCDF), a structured group comprising farmers, business
people, companies and other independent stakeholders has developed an
agricultural concept known as the "Chirundu Project". Although this massive
project has yet to be announced publicly, the launch of the first stage - which
purportedly has the approval of a senior government executive - is scheduled for
1 November.

The full extent of the project will invade not only the pristine Urungwe
Safari Area, but a vast tract of land from Urungwe's western boundary, across
Mana Pools National Park and the Sapi Safari Area to the Chewore Safari area's
eastern boundary, with the Zambezi River as its northern boundary. The land
measures an estimated 100km long and 10km wide, which equates to approximately
100 000ha. This region constitutes one of Africa's most outstanding wildlife
spectacles and contains the last remaining natural stretch of the Middle Zambezi
River.

In recognition of their international importance, the Mana Pools National
Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas were ratified by the IUCN (World
Conservation Union) as a World Heritage Site in 1984 (reference: 302). The
summary prepared by the IUCN was based on the original nomination submitted by
Zimbabwe and states that the area is under public ownership. It is protected by
the Parks and Wildlife Act of 1975 and is managed by the Department of National
Parks and Wildlife Management. It takes into account the contiguous status of
Urungwe in the east and Dande in the west being proclaimed Safari Areas that
afford Mana Pools National Park and adjacent areas an auxiliary field of
protection.

The area under threat from the proposed Chirundu agricultural project
constitutes a total of 6 766 square kilometres. No environmental impact
assessment has been submitted to the Department of Natural Resources, nor has it
invited one, and no known key stakeholders or interested persons or groups have
been consulted on this matter.

Despite this, in excess of US$ 30 million worth of agricultural equipment
in the form of extensive irrigation equipment, earthmoving machinery and heavy
duty transport is reportedly in the final stages of being ordered for Phase 1.
The contract for the construction of 600 low-cost houses in the area has
apparently already been awarded.

The proposed project will include the growing of four major crops.
However, the area is geologically unsuitable for commercial agriculture, with
low sandy soil values over much of the affected land. Furthermore, there is a
strong prevalence of tropical diseases such as tripanosomosiasis (sleeping
sickness), malaria and bilharzia, making the region unsuitable for human
habitation and domestic livestock.

The catastrophic consequences of allowing commercial agriculture in the
area, which constitutes one of Africa's most outstanding wildlife spectacles,
will include:

Massive and
irreversible deforestation of pristine land for cultivation

Large scale,
indiscriminate hacking down of trees for firewood

Pumping of
huge volumes of water from the Zambezi River for irrigation

Pollution of
streams, secondary rivers and the Zambezi River caused by the vast amounts of
fertilisers needed to enhance yields in poor quality soils

Large scale
insecticide, waste, noise and smoke pollution

Extensive
sheet and gully erosion due to soil structure and composition

Threatening
the seasonal occurrences of large mammals within the valley, which is of great
inter and intra-species ecological value

Poaching and
the barbaric snaring of wildlife - which has already decimated numbers
countrywide

The
destruction of a vast array of flora and fauna - the area has a unique
collection of over 380 species of avifauna

Massive
habitat destruction which will also impact on the magnificent birdlife

Irreversible
disturbance of the ecological balance in this ecologically sensitive
region

The impact on
tourism, a vital source of revenue for the rebuilding of Zimbabwe, will be
extremely serious.

The ZCDF is requesting concerned individuals, organisations,
institutions, trusts, regional authorities and international governments to
write urgently to the ZCDF supporting its opposition to the proposed Chirundu
Project.

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The contemptuous comments made by
Robert Mugabe yesterday, in relation to a possible visit to Zimbabwe by UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan, were a deliberate attempt to undermine UN efforts
to help the estimated 700,000 Zimbabweans who have had their homes and
livelihoods destroyed as a result of the internationally condemned Operation
Murambatsvina (Operation Restore Order).

In a brief address to a small group
of Zanu PF officials, who had assembled at
HarareInternationalAirport to greet their leader on his return
from China, Mugabe effectively warned the UN
Secretary General that he would not be welcome in
Zimbabwe if his visit was conditional upon
Zanu PF engaging in dialogue with other stakeholders. Mugabe said that the
invite had only been issued because he was keen for the UN Secretary General to
visit Zimbabwe to ‘come and see what
demolitions we have done here and why we did them’.

The warning to the UN Secretary
General betrays the extent to which Mugabe has been rattled by the damning
report on Operation Murambatsvina, published by UN Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka
on July 18.

The report exploded many of the
myths around Mugabe and Zanu PF. Mugabe can no longer claim to be a champion of
the poor without inviting ridicule. Even more damaging are the continued
attempts by Mugabe and Zanu PF to put a positive spin on Operation Murambatsvina
and the shocking absence of remorse for the scale of human misery documented in
the UN report.

The
MDC, and the hundreds of thousands of
Zimbabweans who have been left without shelter, food and other basic means of
survival, hoped that at the very least the UN report would prick the consciences
of the Zanu PF elite and persuade them of the magnitude of the humanitarian
crisis, and the urgent need to help mobilise immediate humanitarian relief.

Regrettably, the response of Mugabe
and Zanu PF has been to retreat into denial mode and flippantly dismiss
international concerns of widespread suffering amongst the
poor.

The
MDC urges regional leaders to be
cognisant of the evidence and recommendations contained in the report published
by Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka, and to use the report to inform a revised
policy approach towards Zimbabwe. The humanitarian situation in
Zimbabwe is so dire that only a collective
effort by all stakeholders will prevent a further deterioration in conditions on
the ground, and begin the process of undoing the damage that has been caused.

As Mugabe indicated yesterday, he
has no interest in talking to, or working with, other stakeholders in
Zimbabwe. For the sake of
Zimbabwe’s future stability, the onus is now
on regional leaders to persuade him otherwise.

The
MDC
would like to reiterate the point that the UN report gives Mugabe an opportunity
to break with the past and make peace with the people of
Zimbabwe and
the outside world. The MDC
urges Mugabe not to waste this opportunity.

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe on Sunday rejected United
Nations (UN) calls for political dialogue in the country between his ruling
ZANU PF party and main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party.

Mugabe was addressing party supporters at Harare
International Airport after his arrival from a week-long visit to China
where he was seeking assistance to avert economic meltdown in crisis-sapped
Zimbabwe.

Mugabe said UN secretary general was only welcome to
Zimbabwe to assess the after effects of a controversial clean-up exercise
and not to push for dialogue between ZANU PF and the MDC.

"I
invited the secretary general of the United Nations to come and see what
demolitions we have done here and why we did them. That's the area I invited
him for. I never said he should superintendent our political relations with
the MDC," Mugabe said.

UN special envoy Anna
Tibaijuka, who issued a damning report on Zimbabwe's controversial housing
demolitions two weeks ago, among her recommendations urged political
dialogue between the two main political parties to haul the country out of
its present crisis.

But Harare has rejected the UN report alleging
bias on the envoy's part.

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki
is also pushing for political dialogue between Mugabe and the MDC as a
condition for a massive US$1 billion loan Zimbabwe urgently needs to avert
economic meltdown.

Mugabe has in the past consistently rejected
calls for political dialogue with the MDC arguing the opposition party was a
front for the West out to reverse the country's political
gains.

Yesterday, Mugabe also insisted that ZANU PF will only talk
to the MDC in Parliament where the opposition party holds 41 seats after a
controversial election held last March.

"They (MDC) are in
Parliament; they can debate in Parliament in any way they like. But they
have no right that they should be partners with us in Government. We can
never do that. We shall never do that . . . No one shall dictate to us that
we should accommodate the MDC," Mugabe said. - ZimOnline

Any visit by Annan to Zimbabwe should be carefully planned
- UN spokesman1 August 2005 - Any visit to Zimbabwe by Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan should be carefully planned in order to achieve
its main objectives of alleviating human suffering and addressing social,
economic and political challenges, a UN spokesman said today.

Mr.
Annan has accepted "in principle" an invitation from Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe following the release of a UN report calling the evictions of
up to 700,000 people in the southern African country a "disastrous venture"
carried out with "indifference to human suffering" and with "enormous"
humanitarian consequences.

"He's not about to jump on a plane," spokesman
Stéphane Dujarric told the noon daily briefing. "As we've said in the past,
he's agreed in principle, but the trip should be carefully planned in order
to achieve its main objectives.

"The visit needs to contribute to the
alleviation of human suffering and assist in addressing the social, economic
and political challenges in Zimbabwe," he added.

Air Zimbabwe has increased its fares by 75 percent in
line with the new exchange rate announced by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
Governor Dr Gideon Gono in his recent monetary policy review
statement.

Mr David Mwenga, the national airline's spokesman, yesterday
confirmed the increase saying it was meant to match with the new rate of $17
500 to the greenback.

"We set our fares in United States dollars but
we convert that to our local currency to cater for local travellers," he
said.

The airline, Mr Mwenga stressed, has not adjusted the fares in
foreign currency terms.

"Only the local currency has been adjusted
because we now quote using the new auction rate, which went up from $10 500
to the United States dollar to $17 500 to the US$."

The airfare
adjustments will result in an economy class return ticket for
Harare-Johannesburg going for between $5 million and $8
million.

There are various economy classes depending on whether it was an
early or late booking.

Before the latest fare adjustment, travellers
were paying between $3,3 million and $5million for the economy class
seats.

A return ticket for Victoria Falls-Johannesburg now costs between
$4,5 million and $8 million up from between $3 million and $5 million for
the economy class.

Economy class return ticket for Harare- Bulawayo
is now at $3,5 million, up from $2million.

Harare-Victoria Falls has
gone up to $4,7million from $2,7million.

Economy class for a return
ticket to London has had a giant leap from between $11 million and $21
million to between $19 million and $36 million.

Mr Mwenga said the
Harare-Beijing route, which has currently been the busiest of all routes,
has now stabilised and the airline will no longer charge promotional
fares.

"We are now charging the market rate and realistic fares though it
would still be not much compared to what other airlines are charging," said
the Air Zimbabwe spokesman.

"We are convinced the new adjustment in
local currency fares is the fairest of deals considering that the bulk of
our expenditure when we land in transit to or back home we pay for all that
in foreign currency. We also pay all our staff in foreign countries in
foreign currency."

He said the foreign currency they pay for all their
expenditure has to be attained from the services they provide.

Air
Zimbabwe is set to receive more than $500 billion from the RBZ's Parastatals
and Local Authorities Reorientation Programme.

She walked away with
a miniature trophy, $25 million prize money and a certificate at a colourful
ceremony in Harare last night.

The farmer averaged 3 500kg of tobacco per
hectare during the 2004/2005 agricultural season from her 90 hectares of
tobacco.

Mrs Chinamasa also grew 80 hectares of seed maize, 25 hectares
of commercial maize and another 80 hectares of barley as a winter
crop.

In addition, she grew such horticultural crops as garlic,
soyabeans, sugar beans and tomatoes besides rearing 220 herd of cattle at
their Tsukumai Farm in Headlands.

The Minister of State for Security,
Land, Land Reform and Resettlement Cde Didymus Mutasa, who officiated at the
ceremony said although tobacco was a major foreign currency earner, punitive
interest rates after the expiry of the Productive Sector Facility affected
most farmers.

Cde Mutasa said some of the challenges facing the farmers
include their urgent desire for 99-year leases as security of tenure,
shortage of hessian and paper to wrap their tobacco before marketing and
shortage of transport. The minister urged farmers to increase their
hectarage to achieve a national target of 80 000 hectares of
tobacco.

"Please do not despair for we, as Government, are looking at
ways of neutralising these challenges. Go ahead and brace yourselves to
cultivate 80 000 hectares next season," he said.

Cde Mutasa said he
was pleased with the winners as the competition comes in the wake of calls
for farmers to grow crops which generated foreign currency.

He said
it was also important to note that out of 231 063 families that benefited
from the land reform programme, some 40 000 families are flue-cured tobacco
farmers.

"We believe that our strategic land distribution objectives have
been met, not just for tobacco farmers but for all other producers. Above
all, we sought to create a sustainable socio- economic environment where all
beneficiaries would thrive.

"It is for this reason that Operation
Restore Order was not limited to urban areas only but was extended to
farming areas for your benefit."

Cde Mutasa urged farmers to fully
utilise land allocated to them during the land reform programme.

"Let
me re-emphasise the importance of capacity building of our emerging tobacco
producers, lest our detractors will think that land was given to
non-performers."

He commended the Farmers Development Trust and BAT
Zimbabwe for awarding scholarships from which farmers were trained in
tobacco production countrywide.

IF THERE is one apt description
of President Robert Mugabe's current quandary as he sought international
relevance in a widely publicised visit to China this past week, it is Edmund
Burke's 1795 observation that all men who are ruined are ruined on the side
of their natural propensities.

Mugabe is ruined but, tragically, he
continues to be self-indulgently blind to his ruin and its
consequences.

Zimbabweans at home and in the diaspora now face a serious
challenge: will they allow Mugabe's ruin to be their ruin, and to wreck the
country beyond recovery in the foreseeable future?

Mugabe's ruin is
all on the side of his natural propensities. Over the years, pre-dating
Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, he has displayed the energetic natural
propensities for nationalism, pan-Africanism and Third World solidarity that
have inspired many in Zimbabwe and around the world, especially in Africa,
and earned him respect as a champion of the rights of the
downtrodden.

But Mugabe's international reputation has generally been
built from what he says, and not what he actually does.

Without
doubt, he is a great speaker, who uses the emotive words that can move
mountains when railing against neo colonialists and imperialists.

He
comes across as a visionary leader deeply concerned about the plight of the
poor in Zimbabwe and the rights of poor nations in the world.

Yet there
is a huge gulf between what Mugabe says and what he actually does. In fact,
there is no positive relationship between the two.

For example, on many
occasions he has said that his ruling Zanu-PF should not be taught democracy
by anyone, because it brought democracy to Zimbabwe after waging a
protracted armed liberation struggle.

But a closer look at Zanu-PF since
independence shows that Mugabe has used his unchallenged power and influence
in the ruling party to either squander or spurn every opportunity to
practise democracy within its own ranks. This has had far-reaching, negative
consequences for the party's governance of the country.

While there
are many examples that demonstrate this, the most recent was on November 18
last year, when Mugabe hurriedly convened an unscheduled, special Politburo
meeting.

He used this meeting - which did not even have a quorum - to
unprocedurally and unconstitutionally amend Zanu-PF's constitution in order
to prevent the party membership from freely and democratically electing the
presidium and central committee of the party.

This was done three
days before the constitutionally scheduled election took place on November
22.

Zanu-PF's constitution is usually amended by the party's congress,
which meets every five years. In between, amendments can be made by the
party's central committee and ratified by its annual conference.

The
Politburo, which Mugabe chairs and controls, is an organ of the central
committee and has no authority to amend the party's
constitution.

Mugabe, with the support of a tribal clique, feared that
free and fair elections within Zanu-PF would result in the election of
Emmerson Mnangagwa as vice-president, when his preferred candidate was Joyce
Mujuru.

To guarantee her imposition, an irregular Politburo meeting was
irregularly used to amend the party's constitution. The rest is
history.

Many so-called Young Turks in the party, including this writer,
who had been working very hard to promote and institute internal democratic
reform and processes, and encourage the development of competence and
merit-based leadership within the ruling party, were shocked by this
development.

But to a few others among the more democratic-minded old
guard, who remain in Zanu-PF only because of the fear of fear itself,
Mugabe's eleventh-hour intervention was typical of his undemocratic
leadership style.

Mugabe's nationalism is not informed by any democratic
ideals with a practical meaning. He is a rhetorical nationalist who does not
want to see democracy anywhere near him.

While this has served him
for much of his troubled rule over a quarter of a century, the chickens are
now coming home to roost.

There is an ongoing upheaval in Zanu-PF, which
is certain to seal not only Mugabe's ruin, but also the ruin of the party
itself.

November 18 2004 will go down in the history of Zanu-PF as the
day that Mugabe dug his own political grave, and that of the
party.

The damage to Zanu-PF, which is now a party on the shelf, is such
that it is no longer able to produce a constitutional - or any - successor
to Mugabe. And Mugabe must not be allowed to rule Zimbabwe beyond 2008,
whether he wants to or not.

Zanu-PF's failure to play by democratic
rules ahead of its congress means that it has irretrievably lost a
legitimate claim to survive Mugabe's rule.

What further compounds
Mugabe's quandary on the eve of what is increasingly looking like a most
unceremonious exit is that the second half of his 25 years in power has seen
the total collapse of the economy against the backdrop of an unsustainable
political environment.

The fact that the unemployment rate is over 75%
and that 70% of the population, made up of the downtrodden who are his core
constituency, live below the poverty datum line has made Mugabe a certified
failure in policy terms. This has cost him moral and political legitimacy,
of which he now has zero.

The land-reform programme has fallen victim
to political patronage and is now being used to punish dissenters, rather
than to empower the needy.

The recent so-called Operation Murambatsvina,
which destroyed the homes and livelihoods of around 700 000 Zimbabweans and
negatively affected a further 2.4 million, has had social, economic,
political and institutional consequences.

The campaign is as
disastrous as the effects of gukurahundi, Mugabe's campaign to kill and
silence his political foes from Matabeleland, which caused the death of more
than 20 000 people and destroyed the homes and livelihoods of many more
thousands in the '80s.

Mugabe remains steeped in a past ruined by his own
natural propensities, but Zimbabwe and the world have changed drastically
since the gukurahundi days - and, this time, Zimbabweans who are living
through the evil effects of Operation Murambatsvina are not going to sit
idle and hope for the best.

Zimbabweans are now very clear that none of
the problems besetting their country will be solved as long as Mugabe is
president of Zimbabwe and Zanu-PF is the ruling party.

There is a
growing national consensus that Mugabe must find an early constitutional
exit and go now, before it is too late for him and the
country.

Because things in Zimbabwe will get worse before they get
better, any other option is too ghastly to contemplate.

Until
recently, Moyo was minister of Information in Mugabe's government. He is now
an independent MP

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned to
work on Monday after a visit to China yielded a few agreements but fell way
short of an expected rescue package for his country, and remained defiant of
Western criticism of his regime.

On arriving home, the
81-year-old leader shrugged off global pressure over his government's urban
demolition blitz, which has left about 700 000 people homeless, telling the
West to "keep your distance".

Zimbabwe faces expulsion from
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) unless it pays back a $300-million
debt, amid shortages of basic commodities and United Nations accusations
that the demolition drive fuelled a humanitarian crisis.

"Zimbabwe will always resist any interference in its domestic affairs,"
Mugabe said.

Bill Saidi, a social commentator, said Mugabe
had expected "some real rescue package" during his visit to China last
week.

But although he was very warmly received, he returned
home with a few cooperation agreements on the expansion of hydroelectric
power stations, the reopening of collapsed copper mines and a pact to
establish new coal mines.

China also agreed to supply
trains and rehabilitate Zimbabwe's rail network, apart from pledging food
relief for millions of Zimbabweans who face hunger due to poor
crops.

"He obviously was hoping that the Chinese would come
to his aid because of his openly anti-West position, but he misunderstood
them, the Chinese are trading with the West. So, to some extent they are
indebted to the West," said Saidi.

Mugabe, who has been
shunned by the West in recent years over rights and governance issues, has
assiduously courted Asia, describing China as "our greatest friend outside
Africa".

The United States and New Zealand voiced concern
over China's invitation to Mugabe, which coincided with a damning UN report
over a state-run drive to demolish illegal shacks and shops in urban
areas.

The report criticised the government's demolition
campaign, saying it rendered at least 700 000 people homeless and left
another 2,4-million affected.

Irked by the report, Mugabe
invited UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to Zimbabwe to assess the impact of
demolition campaign.

"I ... extended an invitation to the
secretary general of the United Nations to come and see for himself what
demolitions we have done and why we have done that, that's the area for
which I invited him," said Mugabe.

"I never said he
should come and superintend over our political relations with the MDC
[opposition Movement for Democratic Change party]," he said on
Sunday.

Mugabe vowed he will not "succumb" to pressure to
enter into dialogue with the MDC.

"Anyone who seeks to
foster relations with the MDC will be going against our democratic
principles and we shall resist," he said.

"We can never do
that [take on the MDC into the government], we shall never do that ... and
no one has the right to want to dictate to us that we accommodate the MDC,"
he said.

Meanwhile, southern neighbour South Africa is
continuing talks with Zimbabwe on a possible bail-out deal that would
prevent Harare's expulsion from the IMF.

"Consultations
are continuing," South African government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe
said. "The matter will probably be resolved before the point at which the
IMF would have to make its decision."

Saidi said while Mugabe
has turned eastwards, he has little option but to mend fences with the West
to avoid a further economic slide.

"It's shameful for a man,
proud as he is, to have to go with a bowl in his hand to South Africa," said
Saidi.

"I think his only option now is to swallow his pride
and get back to terms with the international community." -- Sapa-AFP

Church leaders expect to meet President Thabo Mbeki soon to
discuss the United Nations report on Zimbabwe's "clean up" operations,
believed to have affected around 700 000 people.

Anglican Archbishop
Njongonkulu Ndungane revealed this today that after he and other church
leaders blessed consignments of humanitarian aid the SA Council of Churches
(SACC) has donated to Zimbabwean people affected by the operation. This
follows a recent visit by the leaders SACC leaders to Zimbabwe.

"The
president indicated to us that he would like to meet us to engage on the
United Nations report," Ndungane told reporters. Last month, the UN released
a scathing report on the campaign of demolitions stating that it had left
700 000 Zimbabweans homeless and destitute and affected a further 2.4
million. Ndungane says they all know that Zimbabwe goes from one crisis to
another and they are all interested in long-term solutions to the economic
and political problems in Zimbabwe.

The cleric echoed Trevor Manuel, the
finance minister's, concerns that South Africa had to make sure it did not
have a failed state on its borders.

Today's consignment, containing 37
tons of food and over 6 000 blankets, was the first of many loads the
churches would send across the Limpopo river border. The Zimbabwe Council of
Churches' humanitarian distribution agency, Christian Care, will distribute
it where it deems necessary.

The next consignment, on August 18, will be
accompanied by a South African military escort. Ndungane said the SACC had
consulted with the South African government to help with the smooth
transportation of the consignments into Zimbabwe.

On the pavement
outside the SACC office in Marshall Street, Johannesburg, Ndungane prayed
for "sanity" to be brought to the leadership of Zimbabwe. - Sapa

ARGUMENTS against
putting greater pressure on Zimbabwe's government to change were beginning
to "look limp indeed", the president of an international lobby group said at
the weekend.

Gareth Evans, president of the nonprofit International
Crisis Group, said at a meeting of international social democratic movements
that pressure from southern African neighbours could do more to bring about
change in Zimbabwe than Europe and America's punitive action.

The
call for greater regional pressure follows the release of a United Nations
(UN) special envoy report on the Zimbabwean government's controversial urban
demolition operation.

The
two-month demolition campaign has left up to 700000 people
homeless.

President Thabo Mbeki had said government would wait for
Tibaijuka's report before deciding on any action with regard to Operation
Murambatsvina, but last week Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said
the drive was "an internal matter" for Zimbabwe.

African National
Congress spokesman Smuts Ngonyama said last week the party supported the
document as it opened the way for engagement.

But Evans, who was
Australia's foreign minister from 1988 until 1996, poured scorn on the South
African government's stance.

"We have reached a tipping point in terms of
what can no longer be ignored or downplayed, and it is time for action" in
Zimbabwe, Evans said.

By far the most effective action, he said, would
come from the region.

"In an African context peer group pressure is a
formidable force," he said.

Evans said that until clear statements were
made on the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe by African leaders, "it will
be difficult for African leaders to persuade the rest of the world that,
when it comes to peace and security and what is necessary to maintain and
sustain it, they really are acting in accordance with the highest
international principles".

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party leaders held a meeting near Johannesburg at
the weekend.

No statement was issued after the meeting, but insiders said
it was clear the party would have to deal with internal problems to become
more effective as a political force.

Sources said the meeting was
called for the leadership to lay the groundwork for an effective response to
Operation Murambatsvina, which it currently lacked.

South Africa's
opposition Democratic Alliance party has intensified its campaign to make
sure Thabo Mbeki does not bailout Robert Mugabe by giving him a loan, with
or without conditions. The party placed adverts in at least 4 local
newspapers urging the South African public to send emails and text messages
to Mbeki, and has written to the appropriate authorities asking for a debate
in parliament on the loan issue. DA foreign affairs spokesman, MP Douglas
Gibson, said the country should not prop up a dictator who will not be able
to pay back the loan.

The DA campaign is gaining steam just when
the Mugabe camp is regrouping after having returned rather empty handed from
China at the weekend. Reports say Mugabe was handed only US$6m and not the
US$1b he requested and left with South Africa as his only other hope.
Observers are viewing this development as an opportunity for Mbeki to show
strength and moral conviction by imposing conditions on Mugabe if he wants
help. Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said last week Zimbabwe would not
accept any conditions, but it is widely believed Harare will give in to some
political concessions, then turn around and refuse to comply once the
pressure is off.

Gibson said the long-term solution is for Mugabe
to resign and make way for a government of national unity. This government
should immediately draft a new constitution and arrange for democratic
elections to take place. Gibson encourages not only South Africans but also
Zimbabweans to let Mbeki know that Mugabe is a dictator who should not be
bailed out. He said helping Harare will prolong the suffering of the
Zimbabwean people.

With Mugabe in desperate need of foreign
currency to pay for energy, fuel and other essential imports, SA could now
put the squeeze on him to deliver his side of the deal, if South African aid
is to be forthcoming. Join the campaign. Send emails of protest to
Mbeki at president@po.gov.za And texts to
27-12-323-8246

Over 300 Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and over 20
male members marched in Bulawayo to Mhlahlandlela Government Complex to hand
over a letter for Robert Mugabe to the Provincial Governor Cain Mathema. The
letter called for the repealing of unjust laws and implementation of the UN
Special Envoys recommendations. Riot Police attended the scene after the
women had disbursed but no one was arrested. The march was conducted in
silence to demonstrate that the Public Order and Security Act and Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act have silenced the nation. The
peaceful activists also wore black armbands in solidarity with the
Liberation War Heroes who sacrificed their lives to bring Independence and
say they must be turning in their graves, as Zimbabweans are not free. The
group said Operation Murambatsvina has awakened them from their rest. The
armband is a way of respecting their sacrifices but signaling them that some
Zimbabweans are still fighting for freedom.

Letters were
delivered to the Provincial Governor, the High Court and Tredgold Provincial
Courts and the Provincial Zimbabwe Republic Police Offices.

The news that the remaining mostly white
commercial farmers financed the ZANUPF campaign during the last elections
raises two fundamental questions about the nature of the struggle for
democracy in Zimbabwe. Many political scientists use what is known as
political economy as a method of studying the politics of power and
coalitions in Zimbabwe. In this method they look at power relationships
among the key political and economic players in Zimbabwe. When Zimbabwe
gained independence in 1980 three power groups came into a coalition that
ruled the country. These were the political power group made up of the
ZANU-ZAPU loose alliance. Next, was the industrial and manufacturing group
which together with the commercial agricultural sector formed the economic
power base in post colonial Zimbabwe. The nationalists who supposedly gained
political power formed a coalition with the economic sector. This coalition
was necessary because the political elite did not have the resources to
sustain themselves. ZANU and ZAPU leaders and their top cronies became
dependent on the economic power elites, namely manufacturing, industrial and
commercial agriculture.

Thus the role of the state under the Mugabe
regime was traditionally a support base for the ZANU and ZAPU. The state
became the mother of ZAPU and ZANU. But unlike children ZAPU and ZANU were
never weaned off the state. Such a coalition was fragile of course because
it depended on Mugabe maintaining strong control over the masses. To achieve
this Mugabe co-opted the army, police and CIO to keep the masses at bay so
to speak. For several years after independence this coalition was able to
sustain a national growth rate of about five percent. This was above average
in many developing countries. The routine was the same: the economic elites
created wealth and paid taxes to the State. The State used some of this
money for development projects. But other money was used to reward the ZANU
ZAPU elites. The subvention for these elites also came from development aid.
Part of aid and loans and grants from developed countries was diverted to
feed the ever hungry ZANU/ZAPU monster. This monster was made up of cronies
whose primary task was to keep the masses under control. But the demands and
numbers of cronies were skyrocketing. Mugabe was forced to create
meaningless positions both in government in the united ZANUPF and in the
party. This meant diverting even more resources from development to the
cronies. However, international aid to Zimbabwe meant Mugabe did not rely
only on the economic elite for his sustenance and that of his cronies. I
must state here that national growth rate as measured by the World Bank and
other economists are based on the performance of the formal economy. The
informal economy, which sustains the vast masses in Zimbabwe, has never been
traditionally and systematically measured as part of the national growth
rate. Some economists have argued that the informal economy does not
contribute significantly to the creation of wealth. If we look at the
political economy of Zimbabwe under Mugabe we will have a better
understanding of the dynamics of the politics of power and the contexts in
which problems and issues are addressed. There can be no doubt that Zimbabwe
is now a class society. And the problems and issues in Zimbabwe today have
to do with the haves and have nots. It is within this context that we can
better understand why the commercial farmers funded the ZANUPF campaign.
Both the commercial farmers and the top ZANUPF politicians have similar
class interests because they belong to the same class. While nearly 5,000
white commercial farms were seized by Mugabe, it was the black farm workers
who suffered untold hardships. Over 500,000 blacks were displaced and dumped
by the roadside in an operation that ostensibly was aimed at, according to
Mugabe, taking farms from the whites to blacks. The true nature of this
operation was Mugabe seized farms from one class, the white farmers, and
gave the farms to another class, the top ZANUPF officials.

Even
in the opposition movement some of the leadership actually belongs to the
elite class. Thus in between the opposition leadership and the white
commercial farming community the struggle for democracy can be defined as
the struggle for equitable distribution of goods and resources among the
privileged and elite class.Where their farms have been seized the commercial
farmers have enjoyed lucrative loans and concessions in other countries like
Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda and Nigeria. Such invitations, concessions and
loans have not been extended to the displaced blacks. None of the
neighbouring countries have invited displaced blacks. Using the model I
outlined above for understanding issues and problems in Zimbabwe one can
understand Mugabe's reckless behaviour. All the criminal acts committed by
Mugabe have been targeted mainly at the masses. One may ask the question: If
the masses ' informal sector does not produce wealth in sufficient
quantities to be measured on the national GDP why should Mugabe even waste
his time harassing them? The answer is simply to consolidate his political
power base. It was Jonathan Moyo at the time he was a Mugabe fanatic who
advised Mugabe the Machiavellian politics of instilling fear in the people
so they can never think of ever staging a demonstration against him. Mugabe
has a political power base. And he has consolidated that power through his
actions ranging from the massacre of over 30,000 Ndebele in 1982; the
rigging of elections, lack of respect for the constitution and the rule of
law, the creation of the militia thugs and the manipulation of the army,
police, CIO into agents of ZANUPF rather than the state. To this extent
Mugabe feels he is now firmly politically entrenched. But Mugabe is not in
control of the economy. Mugabe belongs to the political elites who are
incapable of creating wealth. These elites have traditionally depended on
the industrialists, manufacturers and commercial farmers to sustain them. So
did Mugabe by his actions kill the golden goose that laid the golden eggs?
In a way he unwittingly did so. What Mugabe wanted was to create a new
ZANUPF economic class that would not only create wealth but reduce ZANUPF
reliance on the economic class of industrialists, commercial farmers and
manufacturers. Mugabe must have looked at China and, to a lesser extent
Cuba. He must have concluded that, as in China, Zimbabwe could adopt the
Chinese model of economic prosperity without democracy or the rule of law.
In looking at Cuba Mugabe must have seen in Fidel Castro a survivor of US
sanctions even though the Cubans had been reduced to a difficult
life.

Mugabe's model for socially engineering Zimbabwe is primarily
to instill fear among the Zimbabweans not to protest against him. Even the
opposition movement is unsure about staging massive protests. Next, Mugabe
hopes that hitching Zimbabwe on the Chinese economy Zimbabwe can achieve the
economic growth and prosperity that China currently enjoys. Mugabe's dream
is a Zimbabwe that he controls both politically and economically.
Politically he has staffed his regime with pro-ZANUPF sympathizers.
Economically he is steadily giving control of the country's manufacturing,
industrial and especially commercial agricultural sectors to ZANUPF cronies.
In reshaping Zimbabwe Mugabe has had to contend with disgruntled voices from
within his party. The last thing Mugabe wants to see is a fragmented ZANUPF.
One way of dealing with rebels, apart from sacking Moyo, is to give his
staunch supporters commercial farms or other industrial, manufacturing
companies. Mugabe now has two major projects. The first is to consolidate
the country's economic machinery under ZANUPF control. A select number of
whites will still command some aspects of the economy but they will be under
political control and direction of ZANUPF.

The problem with
Mugabe's grand plan to give ZANUPF control of the economy and the wealth
producing institutions is that ZANUPF has no capacity or tradition to create
wealth.

ZANUPF is a viper's nest of consumers of wealth but
not producers. ZANUPF simply does not know how to create wealth. They cannot
even manage their party accounts.

Herein lies the root
of the economic problems in Zimbabwe, namely bad
governance.

The transport problem
has become more critical in Zimbabwe with the introduction of ZUPCO buses
that came from China. Commuters who are struggling and walking to work
daily, report that many minibuses are spending days on end in queues for
fuel, and this has left mostly government operated ZUPCO buses on the roads.
But many of the new ZUPCO buses from China have very low suspension systems.
This makes it impossible for them to travel to areas with bad dirt roads and
pot-holes.

The shortage of both bath soap and laundry detergent has
also become a serious problem. There are many people reported to be making
money by travelling to Mozambique and buying soap for resale on the black
market. But the prices are said to be very high.

Another issue
that is causing Zimbabweans much grief these days is the shortage of
accommodation. Many people who were forced to destroy their own homes during
the cleanup operation are still looking for a place to stay. Some are
allegedly paying rent to their former landlords just to be allowed to stay
in the yard and use the toilet and water facilities. A resident of
Highfields said that the council workers who read the water meters are
providing information to the police as to who is still keeping lodgers in
their yards. The police then come and raid the surprised tenants who have no
other place to go.

A senior United Nations
human rights official has called for rapid action by the world body in
conjunction with the Government of the southern African country to end the
"ongoing violations of human rights on the massive scale" entailed by the
eviction of more than a half a million people.

"What has already happened
cannot be undone," Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Representative on the
Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Walter Kälin, said in a
statement, noting that the Government of Zimbabwe had fallen far short of
its obligations on internal displacement.

"What is now critical is that
swift action be taken to protect the rights of the displaced - they are
entitled to proper shelter, food, water and health care, and equal access to
education for their children. They also have the right under international
law to compensation for the loss of lawful possessions, and to freely choose
their future place of residence," he added.

A UN report issued last
month noted that the evictions, which the Government said were intended to
clear illegally built slums, had been carried out "with indifference to
human suffering," and Mr. Annan stressed that the operation had done
"catastrophic injustice" to up to 700,000 of the country's poorest
citizens.

"Destruction of homes and forced movement of people on such a
scale comes squarely within the definition of internal displacement, which
covers people forced to leave their homes to avoid human rights violations
and other disasters, whether human-made or natural," Mr. Kälin said. "What
underscores the tragedy is that this crisis has been, from the start,
entirely avoidable."

Calling the Government's action incompatible
with international law in many respects, he noted that the UN's Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement protect against arbitrary displacement,
require due process, adequate notice, appropriate relocation and
minimization of adverse effects, as well as appropriate provision of the
necessities of life to displaced persons, protection of their property and
voluntary choices to displaced persons as to where they will
return.

"On each and every [one] of these points, the Government of
Zimbabwe has fallen far short of its obligations," he declared.

With
rapid action on the part of the UN in conjunction with the Government,
"ongoing violations of human rights on the massive scale we have witnessed
can be quickly brought to an end, and the task of putting people's lives
back together again can begin," Mr. Kälin said. "The half-million displaced
deserve, and are under law entitled to, no less than that."

Johannesburg - Refugees from Zimbabwe's operation "Drive Out
Trash" are suffering in South Africa from hunger, destitution and harassment
by the authorities, the Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe said on
Monday.

Crisis Coalition spokesperson Eleanor Sisulu said this at a South
African Council of Churches (SACC) news conference on Monday.

She
called on the church movement to address the issue of Zimbabwe refugees with
the South African government.

Her colleague, Dr Elizabeth Marunda, said
many of these people had earned their living through the informal
economy.

"They are now helpless," Marunda said.

Earlier church
leaders blessed the first consignment of humanitarian aid for Zimbabwe
donated by the SACC.

Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane prayed for
"sanity" to be brought to the leadership of Zimbabwe, while Rhema Church
leader Ray McCauley prayed the event would mark the beginning of momentum to
help suffering people in that country.

A convoy of trucks carrying
aid relief of 4 500 blankets and 37 tons of maize, beans and oil is to leave
Johannesburg for Zimbabwe later in the day.

South African pilot Niel Steyl experienced his release
from Zimbabwean prison at the weekend as the start of a second innings,
News24 reported on Monday.

"It feels as if I was
clean-bowled out of my first life, but the second innings of my life started
on Saturday," he told reporter Erika Gibson.

Steyl and
Hendrik Hamman, a pilot from Namibia, were held in the Chikurubi maximum
security prison in Zimbabwe for 17 months before being freed on
Saturday.

"I would probably have done better sleeping on the
carpet in front of the bed rather than on the bed," Steyl said after his
first night back in a clean and comfortable room. The men slept on a bare
concrete floor in prison.

Steyl and Hamman were arrested
with 67 South Africans at the Harare airport in March last year. They had
allegedly stopped to pick up weapons to overthrow the government of
Equatorial Guinea.

Steyl said the Zimbabwean prison officials
played games about when and how the two pilots would be
released.

The pilots' families bought airline tickets for
them to fly to South Africa, but things did not go as
expected.

"We were woken up fairly roughly at 4.30 that
[Saturday] morning. We were handcuffed and shackled and put on the back of a
bakkie," Steyl recounted.

"We did not know what was
happening until we realised we were moving in the direction of the
border.

"Before and behind us there were vehicles with armed
soldiers. At Masvingo, the bakkie was low on petrol and we turned in the
direction of Mutare before going to the border post.

"At
Beit Bridge, we were still in chains until an official from the South
African side came to fetch us."

Steyl then flew to Pretoria
with his brother Johan, and his father, also Johan. Hamman's family came to
fetch him.

Speaking about his time in prison, Steyl said his
saving grace was that he remained fit.

"I stepped up and
down on the toilet 900 times with both feet every morning. I made weights
with water bottles and towels and exercised. When we were let out, I
jogged."

He also taught other inmates how to play
chess.

"I was initially very scared. These are some of the
roughest guys you can imagine and homosexual activities were the order of
the day. Funnily enough, they left me alone. The other bad thing was the
number of people who die all around you."

Steyl said he
would miss Philip Bezuidenhout, a farmer from Mutare who lost his farm in
2001 when war veterans started taking over the farms.

"He
accidentally killed one of the veterans when he hit him with his car and was
found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but he is
such a decent person who will probably not hurt a fly. He will have to spend
at least another seven years behind bars."

Steyl was united
with his three brothers, parents and family on Saturday night and spent the
day with them on Sunday.

Said his mother Rina: "I am so
happy; I missed him terribly. He looks good and fit and has not lost his
sense of humour." - Sapa

PATIENTS were yesterday turned
away from the two major referral hospitals in Harare as the strike by junior
doctors, who are demanding at least 800 percent salary increment, entered
its fifth day.The doctors downed their stethoscopes on Thursday and have
vowed to continue with the industrial action until their grievances have
been addressed.Scores of patients were yesterday turned away at Harare
Central Hospital, with a few senior doctors attending to critical cases
only.Mavis Matapura, who had accompanied a sick relative to Harare Central
Hospital, told this newspaper that they were turned away and told to return
next week."We were told to come back next week. My aunt was supposed to
undergo an operation," she said.Most expecting mothers were turned
away.While the hospital's acting medical superintendent, Alfred Mukosi,
insisted that all doctors were at work, hospital staff maintained the strike
was continuing.Mukosi took The Daily Mirror on a staff assessment tour
in some of the hospital's departments, where some doctors were seen carrying
out their duties."There is no strike here. All our doctors are working
and business is as usual," said Mukosi.He claimed that 28 students who
were deployed to the hospital yesterday morning were assisting in the
wards.Some doctor interviewed yesterday claimed that only senior medical
personnel - consultants - and some students were working.At Parirenyatwa
Group of Hospitals, consultants and senior doctors were only attending to
seriously ill patients.A nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said:
"Junior doctors did not even report for work. Consultants and senior doctors
are assisting patients, but only those seriously ill."The hospital's
chief executive officer, Thomas Zigora, could not give an official comment
on steps being taken by administration to ensure that business continued as
usual.The Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Edwin Muguti,
castigated the move by the doctors to down tools. He said government was
working flat out to revamp remuneration and working conditions in the health
sector."It is very unfair, unwise and cruel for these doctors to down tools
at this stage when the government is busy working out their conditions of
service."The service conditions include salaries, accommodation, transport
and other things, which the doctors have mentioned in their plight. The
government has already made a step forward by appointing the Health Services
Board, which is currently looking into the conditions of the health sector,"
said Muguti.He added that the doctors should give government a chance to do
its work.Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors' Association (ZHDA) chairman, Takaruda
Chinyoka, maintained that they would not end the strike until the Health
Services Board capitulates to their demands.The doctors are demanding an
800 percent salary increase. Currently a junior doctor earns $5 million a
month. They want the salary adjusted to $47 million.They also want the
government to review transport and housing allowances.

HUMANITARIAN food
aid sourced by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) to alleviate the
plight of hungry Zimbabweans, is expected in the country tomorrow, SACC
secretary-general Molefe Tsile said yesterday.The 37 tonnes of food aid -
consisting of corn flakes, maize meal, sugar and cooking oil - left South
Africa by road yesterday afternoon and was due at Beitbridge later in the
day, before crossing into Zimbabwe.Tsile told The Daily Mirror in an
interview from Johannesburg that two truckloads of food assistance were
dispatched to Zimbabwe at the request of churches looking after some victims
of Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order.He said: "Two trucks left
Johannesburg for Zimbabwe this afternoon. We are expecting the food aid to
arrive on Wednesday after all the clearance has been done at the
border."Tsile said the aid would be stored at a Christian Care warehouse
before distribution via the organisation's centres throughout the
country.Tsile also said 6 000 blankets were also on their way to cushion
people affected by the blitz from the harsh winter. "We are also making
efforts to get washing soap and bathing soap that we will be sending soon.
There are also plans to acquire tents," he said.Information at hand
indicates that numerous South African churches had also responded
generously to the philanthropic call for food aid to needy
Zimbabweans."We as the South African Council of Churches want to make it
clear that we do not intend to force our way into Zimbabwe."For now, we
are dealing with the churches and not the government. The churches
communicated that they need help and we acted upon their request."If the
Zimbabwe government insists on the adequacy of food in Zimbabwe, then we
will be left with no option but to let the Zimbabwean government and its
people sort out their differences," Tsile added.

ZANU
PF politburo member Stanley Sakupwanya has lambasted some civil servants for
gross incompetence, saying their attitude threatened the country's agrarian
reforms.Sakupwanya said last Friday that conflicting statements by
agriculture ministry officials and other stakeholders over the extent of
preparations to assist farmers ahead of the next farming season had irked
him.What boggled the mind most, he said, was that Minister Joseph Made had
assured the politburo that all was now in order for the new season, yet
ministry officials said something to the contrary. "We do not know if these
people are really serious in all their operations and planning. We begin to
suspect them of harbouring ultra-motives to sabotage the agrarian reform
programme," Sakupwanya said."Just recently minister Made assured us that
everything was now readily available for the on-coming farming season and
yet official on the ground are saying there is virtually nothing, except
funds for tobacco seedbed preparations," he added."If they are
incompetent, please just resign so that government engages the right people.
We are now seeing that you are all liars."Preparations for the summer
farming season should have already started in earnest but for resources not
to have been secured to date defies logic, he said.Sakupwanya also that
the application for loans needed urgent review as the process was too long
and conditions prohibitive to many farmers."These people strictly ask for
collateral security which can not be managed by the majority of our
farmers," he said. "But is that what the whites did to their farmers? How
can we have a meaningful agrarian reform if we treat farmers in such a
way?"

MAVHUDZI Secondary School in
Nyazura, Manicaland, was on Friday shut down prematurely amid serious
concerns that some students and staff at the government-run institution were
afflicted by mass hysteria - allegedly linked to Satanism.The school is
the second to close within a fortnight.Education, Sport and Culture Minister
Aeneas Chigwedere closed Macheke School last week to enable thorough
investigations into allegations of sexual abuse of at least 53 girls by a
male teacher, two general hands and an as yet to be identified
person.Acting Manicaland provincial education director Peter Muzawazi,
yesterday confirmed that Mavhudzi Secondary School had been granted
permission to close ahead of the second term's official closing date set
for Thursday.He said this had been done to allow students and teachers to
rest and have peace of mind, amid the harrowing allegations of
Satanism.Muzawazi said they had since advised school authorities to ban
jewellery and any other regalia depicting symbols associated with Satanists
in a bid to safeguard the pupils and staff against further trauma."We
advised that students should not bring certain items to school. Such items
include bangles, necklaces, cassettes and other strange items that we have
been told can be used by those who practice Satanism. We will be going to
the school again during the holiday to see how we can solve the problem once
and for all," Muzawazi said.A number of students and members of staff were
reportedly hypnotised by the hysteria, blamed on suspected Satanic
practices at the school.The strange occurrences reportedly affected mostly
female students who are said to have turned violent and exhibited
extraordinary strength, besides speaking in unusual voices and tongues.A
male student at the school, whose identity this newspaper can not disclose,
added to the puzzle. He claimed that even snakes were also occasionally
seen on school grounds."Snakes were also being seen at the hostels and on
some occasions we would see at least three in a day but they would all
disappear whenever people tried to kill them," the boy claimed.Numerous
boarding schools have been affected by bouts of mass hysteria in Zimbabwe
and these included Moleli High in Chegutu and Kadoma's Sanyati Baptist High
- both in Mashonaland West.Despite the mysterious happenings, Muzawazi said
there was nothing peculiar or wrong in schools seeking permission to close
early. "It's normal for schools to apply to the ministry to be allowed to
deviate the calendar if they feel there is a good reason for that," Muzawazi
said. "Given the activities that were experienced at the school during the
term, school authorities felt that the students and staff were exhausted and
needed more time to rest and we did not see anything wrong with that," he
added.He also explained that Mavhudzi Secondary School had been given the
greenlight to close early, given that they had already completed their
midyear examinations."They will reopen together with other schools for
the third term in August. But they have proposed that they will begin their
working days early and finish late to cover for the lost time," Muzawazi
said.

Harare - Zimbabwe's main opposition party on Monday blasted
President Robert Mugabe for refusing to hold talks on resolving the
country's crises and said it was now up to southern African leaders to
persuade him to take that route.

The Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party also denounced Mugabe for saying that United Nations chief Kofi
Annan's visit to Zimbabwe would be strictly limited to assessing the
humanitarian situation after the demolitions campaign that had left hundreds
of thousands homeless.

MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube said: "The
humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is so dire that only a collective effort
by all stakeholders will prevent a further deterioration in conditions on
the ground, and begin the process of undoing the damage that has been
caused."

Ncube said: "As Mugabe indicated yesterday (on Sunday), he has
no interest in talking to, or working with other stakeholders in
Zimbabwe."

SADC to hold summit

He said: "For the sake of Zimbabwes
future stability, the onus is now on regional leaders to persuade him
otherwise."

Leaders of the 14-nation Southern African Development
Community (SADC) were due to hold a summit in Gaborone on August 17 to
19.

A UN report compiled last month by Annan's special envoy, Anna
Tibaijuka, estimated that 700 000 people had been left homeless in the
government's drive to demolish shacks and homes, market stalls and other
buildings mostly in shantytowns and other poor areas.

The demolitions
campaign had compounded the country's economic problems including food and
fuel shortages, hyperinflation and unemployment at about 70%.

Mugabe
invites Annan to Zim

Irked by the report - which stopped short of blaming
Mugabe, but called for the prosecution of the architects - Mugabe invited
Annan to come to Zimbabwe to assess the impact of demolition
campaign.

Mugabe said: "I ... extended an invitation to the
secretary-general of the UN to come and see for himself what demolitions we
have done and why we have done that."

But, he said:"I never said he
should come and superintend over our political relations with the MDC",
adding that he would not "succumb" to pressure to enter into dialogue with
them.

He said: "Anyone who seeks to foster relations with the MDC will be
going against our democratic principles and we shall resist. We can never do
that, we shall never do that ..."

Ncube said the UN report "gives
Mugabe an opportunity to break with the past and make peace with the people
of Zimbabwe and the outside world".

Harare - The Zimbabwe government has threatened to "descend
heavily" on manufacturers it blames for causing shortages of basic
commodities, reported the state-controlled Herald on Monday.

"Our
ministry is concerned about the continuous shortages of commodities at a
time when we have reached an agreement with manufacturers about price
adjustments," said secretary for industry and international trade, Christian
Katsande.

"Some measures are being discussed to ensure that
operations of manufacturing firms are strictly monitored," he
said.

Shortages of basic goods like bread, cooking oil, maize meal, sugar
and soap are worsening in Zimbabwe. Imported substitutes are often
available, but at a much-higher price.

Increasingly difficult
economic factors

President Robert Mugabe's government sets the prices for
these goods when locally-manufactured.

Katsande said his ministry's
main aim was to ensure "manufacturers comply with production
targets".

Fixed retail prices

Manufacturers say they are operating
under increasingly difficult circumstances.

They say high inflation,
fuel shortages and a critical lack of foreign currency - which forces many
to turn to the expensive parallel market - make it difficult for them to
continue producing goods for sale at fixed retail prices.

Where local
goods are available like milk and soft drinks, many supermarkets in Harare
now ration customers, allowing them only to buy one or two at a
time.

Katsande said the government was worried that shortages of
basic goods would lead to "unnecessary inflationary
pressures".

Zimbabwe's inflation rate is one of the highest in the
region, running at more than 164%.

Although the government has vowed
to bring it down to double-digit figures by the end of the year, independent
economists forecast it could reach 1 000%. - Sapa-dpa

THE Swedish government is reviewing its funding method to the
arts and culture sector in Zimbabwe after the recent evaluation of the
Culture Fund revealed that there were a number of irregularities in the
handling of grants.

Introduced in 2003, the fund has been marred by a
number of resignations of both board and staff members, amid serious
allegations of corruption in the selection criterion for disbursement of
funds.

Sources said recommendations from the evaluation report of the
fund done early this year reveal that the current handlers had failed to
invest properly.

"The evaluation emphasises the need for investment
in the capacity of individuals and groups tasked with managing the affairs
of the Fund, including a pro-active use of information and communication
technologies to enhance the Fund's operations," said a source. He said it
also recommends the need for a strong ideology and a clear vision for the
Fund.

The fund was established through the Swedish International
Development Agency (Sida) with the purpose of extending financial support to
individuals and cultural organisations in Zimbabwe, so that they can
strengthen and realise their full potential in the arts
industry.

Despite benefiting hundreds of artistes throughout the country,
the fund has been hit by massive resignations from its board and staff, with
allegations of irregularities in the disbursement of the funds.

Alpha
Chapendama, Programme Officer at the Embassy of Sweden in Harare confirmed
the developments but could not shed light on the restructuring
exercise.

"We are looking at establishing the Culture Fund as a
technical and financial conduit for all programmes in the arts and culture
sector to ensure consistency and administrative effectiveness", said
Chapendama in the Swedish publication, Its Sweden.

However,
StandardPlus understands that the process would see Sida phasing out support
to some partners receiving direct funding from the embassy.

The
evaluation exercise also recommended that the Fund should ensure that there
is a regional and gender balance among the artistes receiving
support.

Efforts to get a comment from the current chairperson of the
fund, Titus Chipangura, proved fruitless as he was said to be out of
town.

Sweden's support to the culture sector in Zimbabwe started over two
decades ago and today, cultural support has become one of the largest areas
of support with grants amounting to over US$1,5 million each year, according
to Swedish sources.

United Nations Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan is
welcome to Zimbabwe only to assess the aftermath of the clean-up operation
and not to mediate dialogue between Government and the MDC, President Mugabe
said yesterday.

Addressing Zanu-PF supporters at Harare International
Airport, Cde Mugabe said Government, through him, invited the UN secretary
general to see the situation on the ground after the clean-up operation and
not to interfere in Zimbabwean politics.

"I invited the secretary
general of the United Nations to come and see what demolitions we have done
here and why we did them. That's the area I invited him for. I never said he
should superintendent our political relations with the MDC," President
Mugabe told the Zanu-PF supporters who were at the airport to welcome him
from his week-long State visit to China.

He said the MDC was in
Parliament and Zanu-PF would only dialogue with the opposition party in the
legislature and no other forum.

"They (MDC) are in Parliament; they can
debate in Parliament in any way they like. But they have no right (to say)
that they should be partners with us in Government. We can never do that. We
shall never do that. But debate with them in Parliament, yes. No one shall
dictate to us that we should accommodate the MDC (in Government). Anyone who
seeks to foster relations with the MDC will be going against our own
democratic principles and we shall resist that stance from whomsoever,"
President Mugabe said.

He added: "I wanted to say that because there are
these moves from various quarters and we cannot succumb to them. We are a
revolutionary party. We derive our power from the people; that is where we
came from as the Government of Zimbabwe after the elections."

The
President said the MDC had contested the March parliamentary elections,
winning 41 seats, and should, therefore, use its representation in
Parliament to debate issues with Zanu-PF and Government.

His
statement comes in the wake of reports quoting Mr Annan's spokesman as
saying the UN boss "would not substitute himself for special envoy Anna
Tibaijuka", who drafted the damning report on the clean-up operation, and
that he would only visit Zimbabwe on condition that there was political
dialogue between the Government and opposition.

Political dialogue is
one of the recommendations Mrs Tibaijuka made in her report, which
Government dismissed, saying it was not part of her terms of
reference.

Turning to his State visit to China, Cde Mugabe - who led
a Government delegation to the Asian country - castigated the West for
attempting to dictate which countries should be friends with
Zimbabwe.

He said no country should determine who Zimbabwe associates
with.

"Zimbabwe will never accept their stance. We don't choose friends
for America. Why should America say China should not have invited us? Who
are they to us? Who are they to China? We say to them: 'Keep your distance.
If you do not want to be our friends, you can choose to be our enemies.'
Zimbabwe will not seek to be enemies with anyone, but will accept friends,"
said President Mugabe.

He said there is a UN Charter which bars
non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.

Last
week, China rebuffed attempts by some Western countries to bar President
Mugabe and his delegation from undertaking the State visit. Prior to the
Zimbabwean delegation's visit, a New Zealand diplomat based in Beijing was
told off by China after protesting over the State visit.

Cde Mugabe said
the State visit was at the invitation of the Chinese government and was
undertaken to strengthen the already good relations between the two
countries.

The two countries signed a number of agreements for
co-operation in various sectors of the economy such as expansion of power
stations, the reopening of collapsed copper mines, the opening-up of new
coal mines, supply of commuter trains and upgrading the rail network, and
dualisation of the country's major roads, among others.

China also
pledged to give Zimbabwe a grant for food relief following the drought that
hit the country last season.

President Mugabe described China as
Zimbabwe's greatest friend outside Africa.

Among those who welcomed
the President were Vice President Joice Mujuru, State Security, Lands, Land
Reform and Resettlement Minister Cde Didymus Mutasa, Mines Minister Cde Amos
Midzi, who is also the Zanu-PF Harare Province chairman, officials from the
Chinese Embassy, senior Government officials and service chiefs.

Delays in announcing new bread prices have forced some
bakeries to close shop while others are currently operating at a loss,
bakers have said.

Although negotiations have been taking place over the
last four months, these are yet to produce results.

According to
sources in the baking industry, it was agreed two weeks ago that if a basic
standard loaf was to be produced using Grain Marketing Board (GMB)-supplied
wheat which accounts for 60 percent of the industry's consumption, the
minimum cost would be $7 500 per loaf.

However, in order to cushion the
consumer both parties agreed to wholesale bread at a conservative $8 000,
while retailing at $8 500 per loaf.

There has, however, been a delay in
announcing the new price and some bakeries such as Continental, Koullas and
N & B either closed shop or sold their assets.

While both
industry and Government's costing models established that at a 20 percent
return, bakers would have to wholesale the bread at $11 000 and retail it at
about $12 000, the authorities felt that the jump from the current $4 200
for wholesale and $4 500 for retail would be too high. Although Government
has been assisting the baking industry by buying wheat at $2 million per
tonne and selling it to the milling industry at $900 000 per tonne, the
proportion of flour to the cost of bread has dropped from 60 percent to 22
percent because other inputs such as yeast, packaging, additives, fuel and
spare parts for baking equipment have continued to rise at an alarming
rate.

Demand for bread has skyrocketed, resulting in shortages causing
some traders, particularly on the black market, to charge as much as $15 000
per loaf which they buy at $4 200 from the established bakers.

The
industry is further threatened by the shortage of diesel to fire the baking
ovens as well as to distribute the bread. So far, the National Oil Company
of Zimbabwe has only been able to meet a third of the industry's
requirements.

"At the current consumption, GMB wheat will only last
up to the last week of September whilst the new harvest is expected at the
end of October implying that there will be two months of extreme bread
shortages if no solution is put in place," said a baking industry
source.